SHREWSBURY TOWN COUNCIL
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
SEPTEMBER 2010
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1.0 Introduction
Shrewsbury Town Council has a duty to engage effectively with its residents,
partners, employees and stakeholders and to do this it is vital that a
communications strategy be developed.
Communications is a complex, multi-dimensional topic and, contrary to popular
belief, it is not only about public relations.
Communications within Shrewsbury Town Council are currently in their infancy.
The Council is a new institution, created in 2009 following local government
reorganisation, and as such its communication methods have been limited while
the organisation bedded-down. Current communications include; press releases,
the website, customer service, Council Tax leaflet, marketing material,
consultation, the Annual Report, how councillors interact with constituents and
council documents such as agendas and letters.
This strategy will look at how the Council can develop its communications over
the next 12 months.
All departments need the basics of communications. From answering the phones
and dealing with the colleagues, to front line customer service and carrying out
media interviews, everyone needs to understand the fundamentals of
communications.
The overall aim is that Council communications should be a two-way process; to
give people the information to understand accurately what we do, so they can
make informed decisions, and to get information from residents and stakeholders
so we can understand their needs.
1.1 Why is communication important?
Local government communications have, over the past few years, increasingly
focused on reputation. Better communications lead to recognition and respect –
reputation does matter. Many councils fail to effectively communicate who they
are and what they do – and the less people know about an organisation, the less
likely they are to rate it highly.
Achieving the Council's aims and objectives requires good communication with
every individual, group and organisation we work with, or provide services for.
An important part of any organisation’s role is to ensure that information provided
both by and to it is easily accessible, relevant and timely. The Council has to
recognise the importance of communication and be committed to developing its
own services to meet the expectations of the community it serves.
The advances made in information technology offer exciting new ways of
communicating. At the same time, for many people, traditional methods –
newspapers, telephone, leaflets – still play a fundamental role that must not be
undervalued.
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1.2 What should we be communicating?
Research by MORI, an independent research organisation, and the Local
Government Association, states that the most important drivers of council
reputation among local residents are:
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perceived quality of services overall
perceived value for money
media coverage
direct communications
council performance
clean, green and safe environment
positive experiences of contact with council employees
If the Council is to build a strong reputation, effectively inform residents, engage
and improve customer satisfaction then these drivers must form the basis of its
communications strategy.
There is also a need for proactive and reactive information:
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Proactively – telling people information to influence and change attitudes
Reactively – giving residents information they want to know
1.3 Who should we be communicating with?
The Council’s audiences are wide and varied but will typically include:
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Residents
Town Council staff
Hard-to-reach groups, including young people and BME audiences
The media
Shropshire Council (unitary authority)
Voluntary groups and organizations
The business community
MPs
Other public sector organizations (police, health, fire)
Visitors and those who work in the county
(Audiences have to be targeted for different initiatives and communicated to
appropriately by using the right tools which will be looked at in sections 3 and 4).
1.4 Our aims and vision:
The Town Council’s main aim through communications is to ‘Put Shrewsbury
First’ for the benefit of residents, partners, employees, stakeholders and visitors.
The Council’s communications work will:
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raise residents satisfaction, trust and confidence levels
raise awareness of services provided by the Council
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raise the profile of Shrewsbury as hub for business and tourism
support elected members in their role as community leaders
make best use of technology to innovate and engage with hard-to-reach
groups such as young people and BME audiences
proactively challenge inaccuracies and misrepresentations that might
undermine the brand image or integrity of the Council
Our vision is that our residents will:
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know what services the Council provides and the quality of service they can
expect from us
feel confident and satisfied with our services, and their costs
understand how to get involved with, or influence, our work
In addition, visitors to the town will:
 see Shrewsbury as a top destination to live, work and play
2.0 Existing communication methods
Prior to June 2010, the Town Council did not have a team member directly
responsible for communications. As a result work was picked up by other
officers, in addition to their daily duties.
Methods in place before June 2010 included:
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Website
Council agenda papers/letters
Limited PR and marketing activity
Annual Report
Interactivity of Councillors with constituents
Customer service
Since the appointment of a full-time Marketing and Promotions Officer (MPO) the
Council’s communications activity has increased and the MPO has:
 Developed a system for planned communication: Currently the MPO works
with officers and councillors to plan timely campaigns and media saturation.
However as the post is still relatively new there are times where opportunities
are missed, perhaps because an officer or councillor does not realise the PR
potential of a scenario or event and also due to officers not being used to an
individual being responsible for this type of work. Awareness of the MPO will
naturally grow in time.
 Implemented a basic brand consistency through media communications: The
MPO has created a press release template and media cribb sheet for use by
officers and councillors. Better use of branding has also been implemented in
all work carried out in partnership with the town’s Market Hall which is run
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jointly by the Town Council (canopied section) and property owner, Jones
Lang LaSalle.
 Improved Media relations: The MPO works closely with local journalists and
the wider media to have a two-way relationship. As a result, press releases
issued by the MPO are usually picked up and printed verbatim. There are still
press releases issued without input from the MPO, though these are
decreasing.
 Initiated some basic public consultation at high footfall local events.
 Developed a Communications Strategy for the organisation.
3.0 Planned communication
The Council will aim to deliver core actions which, if achieved, would have a
marked impact on the organisation’s reputation and the perceptions of residents.
These are:
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Manage the media effectively to promote the Council
Provide an A-Z Guide to Council Services
Publish a regular council newsletter or magazine for residents
Ensure the council brand is consistently linked to services
Carry out regular consultation
Maintain and develop STC website
The Council will also ensure that all communication activity takes into account
the differing accessibility needs of all, regardless of culture or ethnic origin,
nationality, religion or belief, gender, disability, age, sexuality, geographical
location or any other status.
The Council’s approach will be sensitive to the needs, values, language and
cultural differences that exist within its communities and will make
communication materials available in other formats where reasonable and
appropriate.
3.1 Manage the media effectively to promote and defend the council
The media plays a strong role in shaping perceptions of local government, so
informed reporting is vital.
The Communities and Local Government report found people were most
positive about their council in areas where the council had a good relationship
with the local media.
Our key points for effective management of media relations are to:
♦ Respond to journalists in full within a reasonable time (maximum 4 hours)
♦ Be helpful, polite and positive
♦ Never say “no comment”
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♦ Ensure any statements to hostile enquiries are cleared by the most
appropriate person and keep written records of responses to journalists
♦ Monitor response times to media enquiries and evaluate media coverage
♦ Ensure the appropriate council spokesman is fully briefed and available for
interview if required
♦ Issue timely and relevant press releases using the brand template (available to
all staff through the shared filing system)
♦ Pre-empt potential stories arising from council agendas/minutes by issuing
proactive PR
♦ Organise Media training for key speakers (Council Leader, Mayor, Town Clerk)
It is also planned to add a Press section to the existing website which would
include media releases, information and a selection of photographic material for
journalists use.
In addition, to keep councillors and officers up-to-date with press coverage, the
MPO is planning to launch a regular Media Summary via email.
3.2 Provide an A-Z Guide to Council Services
At a consultation event held in June, 63 per cent of people admitted they did not
know what services the Town Council provides.
Research for the Local Government Association (LGA) Reputation campaign
revealed that producing A-Z information is one of the key actions a council
can take to improve awareness and satisfaction among residents.
An A-Z can also generate savings for the Council by increasing awareness
among residents of self-help channels such as the website.
It is proposed to produce an A-Z Guide to Services once a year, either as a
stand-alone document or delivered as an insert in the Shrewsbury Chronicle or
Admag.
3.3 Publish a regular council newsletter or magazine to inform residents
Research shows that there is a direct link between how well informed the public
is about council services and how satisfied they are with them. Therefore by
regularly communicating with our local residents we can engender a more
positive ethos and people are more likely to feel that the Council offers value for
money and provides a good quality of service.
Regular communication with the electorate also fulfils part of the Communication
& Community Engagement criteria for Quality Council Status, towards which
Shrewsbury Town Council is aiming.
It is therefore proposed that the council launch a regular newsletter (bi-monthly or
bi-annually) to be issued in the same way as the A-Z Guide to Services. A full
options report has already been produced for members consideration with mind
to launch the first publication in the Autumn of 2010.
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3.4 Ensure the council brand is consistently linked to services
The Council will look to brand its communications consistently, ensuring a single
brand identity by:
 Making sure all staff have access to electronic logos and templates (press
releases, letters, etc)
 Using a uniform font type – all printed communication should display the
Council logo and should use Arial 12 font
 Developing a photographic library which supports the Council’s brand and is
available to staff, journalists and partners online
 Ensuring the brand is reinforced through visual media such as advertising
3.5 Carry out regular consultation
The Council is committed to consulting local taxpayers, service users, local
businesses, service providers and our own staff and Members, to identify ways in
which we can improve the services we provide.
Consultation is a key part in the communications strategy as it is a two-way
exchange of views between local people and the Council. We are keen to get
people’s opinions about both the future of Shrewsbury and the services we
deliver. This will help us to make decisions and allow us to tell people about why
we provide services in the way we do.
At present, most of the Council’s consultation is by way of questionnaires and
members interaction with the public.
A further method that could be used by the Council to gather public opinion
would be to form a Citizens Panel – a group of people who volunteer to become
part of the consultation process by agreeing to respond to surveys and
discussion groups with the Council over a period of time. The panel would be
randomly selected and representative of the whole of the town (age, gender,
race, socio-economic status etc).
3.6 Maintain and develop website
The Town Council already has a website which is regularly updated and contains
key information about the Council and important events.
It is already planned to introduce a new Press section to the website. Other
additions could include a staff area and consultation portal, although these
options are capacity and budget dependant.
The Council is committed to being fully inclusive, therefore engaging with hardto-reach audiences, including those who do not speak English as a first
language, is essential. The MPO is currently looking at a range of methods to
better signpost services for residents who speak little or no English. One option is
to provide a translation service for all major documents which service users could
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request by clicking on a tab, in their own language, on the website. This will incur
costs to upload the information to the website initially, and then a charge would
be made by a translation service each time a document is requested in an
alternative format. A full report, containing all available options, is currently being
prepared for members consideration.
4.0 Additional Communication proposals
As well as delivering the core actions described in section 3, the Council would
also benefit from looking at new and innovative methods of communication to
keep up with an ever-changing world.
These options are dependant upon budget and/or manpower.
4.1 Social Media
Social Networking is now a credible communication channel that is increasingly
utilised by organisations, as well as individuals, as a means of developing online
communities for gathering and disseminating information that is of mutual
interest.
Many Public Sector bodies have their own Social Networking sites. The most
popular are Facebook and Twitter, Facebook currently being the larger of the two
with over 18 million users in the UK although Twitter’s popularity is rapidly rising.
Social Networking sites offer value for money and a strong community focus.
Running the sites utilises existing ITC systems and is therefore effectively free to
set up and update.
Launching our own Town Council pages would provide an effective real time,
two-way communication channel. It will allow us to engage with online groups
that may not normally interact willingly with the Council. It will also help provide
more people with access to Council services and allow the Council to engage
with new audiences such as the under 25’s, and will bridge the gap taking the
Council to the place where the people already are.
There will be certain communities that the Council has previously struggled to
communicate to consistently, such as the deaf or BME communities that will
already be using Facebook and/or Twitter.
It is a fast, efficient way of communicating as there are no lead-in production
times for print or production – you can have a message up and available for
viewing by your fans/followers in minutes.
At the same time it positions Shrewsbury Town Council as a modern council and
helps us to change perceptions of remoteness by allowing us into the user’s own
space. More people will be tempted to engage with us because it does not
involve attending a meeting, or even using very much of their time.
Social Networking sites will provide the opportunity to communicate with people
immediately, in real time. This will, of course, bring its own challenge in that to be
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truly valued by Friends/Followers there must be a regular flow of messages and
content that will encourage regular interaction. We will also need to ensure that
we regularly monitor our pages so that we can address any specific questions or
issues that arise, so there are manpower issues to consider before the pages
can be launched.
The benefits of Social Networking far outweigh any potential problems or
difficulties. It is therefore recommended that the Town Council consider
launching Facebook and Twitter pages within the next 12 months.
A full Social Networking proposal is being developed for consideration by
members.
4.1 Internal Communications
MORI have undertaken considerable research into internal communications and
consider it to be essential in building staff advocacy (see model below). This is
where staff will speak highly of the Council and are proud to work for the
organisation.
MORI excellence model:
Advocacy
Commitment
Satisfaction
Transaction
Trust
Awareness
Staff play a crucial role in building a council’s reputation. Whether they are
frontline staff or officers representing the council externally, the way they behave
and how they talk about the council can have a huge impact. Good internal
communications are therefore very important in helping a council achieve its
objectives.
There are currently no formal internal communication channels in place within
Shrewsbury Town Council.
One of the most effective ways to communicate with staff is through the use of a
regular newsletter. This should be regular enough so that information is both
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relevant and timely, but needn’t be a monthly occurrence if staff capacity is an
issue.
A bi-monthly or quarterly publication, available either as an electronic document
or hard copy, will:
 help create a 'can-do' culture and build a committed and high-performing
workforce focused on achieving the council’s goals
 boost morale and motivation
 encourage staff to be ambassadors for the Council
 help the organisation learn and grow –staff are a vital source of information
and ideas
 provide a better customer service – informed frontline and other staff will be up
to speed on what’s happening in the council and why.
A regular newsletter could also be supplemented by news bulletins posted on the
existing website and/or emailed out to staff with computer access.
5.0 Evaluation
It is extremely important that the Council measures the success of this strategy
so that it may inform any future plan.
What can we measure?
 Raised awareness of the Town Council and the services it provides
 Attitudes towards STC
 Participation and engagement with Council projects, initiatives and consultation
processes
How will we do this?
 Consultation with residents – perception and satisfaction surveys
 Measure press coverage for saturation and against press releases for content
usage
 Hits on website
 Number of Friends and Followers on Social Networking sites (if applicable)
 Staff survey
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